Thoughts in Random Patterns

Oh, Happy Day!

Just found out that Stacy's cancer is in remission!  Yay!  Yay!  Yay!  He had his doctor's appointment this morning, and then he and Wendy came by my office and we went out for an extra-celebratory lunch at Q's.  Happy news, indeed, especially since his next treatment option if the chemo failed to put the lymphoma in remission was to have bone marrow transplants.  He'll still have to have his blood counts monitored until they return to normal range, and he has to have his chemo port removed, and have frequent PET scans -- but remission is such a good word!  So happy, so relieved --

Football Widower

Today Brad was abandoned to his own devices while I watched the Wild Card playoff games.  Since I Tivo them, it doesn't take nearly as long to watch, but it's still a significant chunk of time.  He read his biography of Andrew Carnegie as long as he could bear to be in the same room as the game, and then ran away so I could yell at the t.v. without bothering him.  Tomorrow our gourmet group is coming over for an All-American football party (Jello salad, bratwurst, Coors beer, chili with cheese and Fritos on top, Rice Krispy treats -- and champagne).  I was happy with the Patriots victory today, and would love to see them win the unprecedented 3 Super Bowls in a row.  Tomorrow I'll be rooting for the Steelers.

Judy's Book

Although Brad has been a vocal and longtime supporter of Judy's Book, I have been, as usual, more skeptical and slower to come around.  I created a review of the Pratt Museum in Homer when Brad first wanted me to try it out in August of 2004, but balked at the idea that I'd have separate places with my reviews instead of being able to consolidate my work on my very own blog.  Happily, Judy's Book recently added the ability to enter reviews on their site and then post them to your blog.  Now I'm a believer.  I did a truthful but quick review of The Kitchen restaurant here in Boulder as my test blog post, and it worked quite nicely.  Way to go..

The Kitchen: California in Boulder

California in Boulder

Review of: Kitchen the

By: Amy Batchelor

Rating: 4

Read review on Judy's Book.

The Kitchen is my favorite restaurant for downtown lunch meetings. The menu is full of fresh locally produced meats and produce. I had lunch on Friday and had their delicious and hearty tomato soup and then a roasted beet salad with chevre and toasted hazelnuts on a bed of arugula. It's nice to have a place to eat at frequently where it's possible to eat healthy food.

My only complaint is that the tables are quite close together, so it's not a good place for sharing private conversations unless you want you neighbors to hear, too.

Martha Update

Brad and I went to visit my sister, Martha, this evening before dinner.  She has been in the hospital for 3 weeks and 2 days, which is a long time.  Wendy and I came and visited last week, and she was in pretty good spirits, healing nicely, and thought she would get out of the hospital last weekend -- but now she's having trouble fighting infection and is taking major antibiotics and pain medication.  Tonight she was tired and really struggling with pain, and probably won't get out of the hospital until early next week -- not this weekend.  Our visit was more brief than I intended because it took us over an hour to drive the 26 miles from Mobius' offices to the University Hospital in Denver because of accidents on both Highway 36 and Colorado Blvd and our dinner reservation was across town.  I did bring her small gifts; a fun movie and a first novel written by a woman who lives near Fairbanks, Alaska.  I'd like to bring her the gift of health, but that's not how it works.

Brad's 40th Birthday Bash Photos

I just uploaded a bunch of candid, unedited photos from our week in Cabo.  As a sudden snow squall swirls around the house this afternoon, it's nice to think of being on the beach in Mexico with a bunch of terrific friends to celebrate Brad's birthday together.

N.B.  Attendees are welcome to request the removal of any unflattering or incriminating photos.  I've already removed mine!

Mall Rats

I spent from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. today at the Flatirons Crossing Mall with my terrific niece, nephew, and sister enjoying the after-Christmas sales and doing some back-to-school shopping in the nearly empty mall.  I bought some fun things for myself, too (love love love my new Converse high tops that have fuzzy cheetah-patterned fabric); but mostly enjoyed getting to spend time with Morgan and Drew.  It's amazing how funny and wise 15 and 16 year old people can be.

Shampoo Wisdom

I am a lotion and potion queen, and have maybe 17 different shampoos in the shower at any given time.  Today I actually read the bottle of conditoner that I was using, and found this great quote:

Too often we are conditioned to believe that splendor comes from only the big events or the rollercoaster rides; yet the truest splendor is often ignited by the tiny spark of a child's innocent smile, by laughing with friends, or by the daily ritual of falling in love over and over again with the same person.  Discover your splendor in the reality of what is simple, what is pure, and what is real.

This is a Philosophy product -- appropriately named, with a very nice typeface on the product.

It's a good way to start the day --

Happy New Year!

And somehow an entire year just passed, second following second, as time seems wont to do — except that this year we had an entire extra second because of the pesky rotation of the Earth, which both speeds and slows, but has slowed significantly in the last billion years or so.  I think I was sleeping peacefully when the leap second happened last night and the atomic clock was once again aligned; but I could have been thinking about entropy or time’s arrow or unsolved problems in physics or the complexity of the Hindu calendar.

I had a great New Year’s Day, which included a long walk with Brad and Kenai, yoga and meditation, a party at our great friends Howard and Elizabeth’s house with lots of other great friends, and a quiet television-free evening at home.  I’m not much of a New Year’s resolution person, but I am going to try to hunker down and focus on the two things I’ve been talking talk about doing for the past several years:   getting fit and finishing my novel.  I’m good at honoring commitments to family and friends and organizations; but this year I’m going to work on honoring my commitments to myself.  I’m going to try to write a daily blog post, like my blogging idol, Halley Suitt.  I’m going to read more and write more and move my ass around more and try to do less of the things that I know aren’t really good for me (watching television, buying more shoes, sorting my email Inbox into complex categories but not actually responding to any of the email).  I’m going to try to keep it simple, keep my health, keep having fun, and keep learning and growing.  I hope the same for all of you..

“Nothing is so fatal to character as half-finished tasks.”  David Lloyd George